Before kick-off Portsmouth’s manager, John Mousinho, suggested all the pressure would be on Sunderland, leaving his players free to relax, improvise and unlock their inner creativity.
It did not quite work out like that but, in one sense, Mousinho was correct. Régis Le Bris’s players frequently looked so nervous and/or fatigued that they not merely missed a litany of chances but became so indecisive in possession that a Portsmouth side reduced to 10 men by Marlon Pack’s second half sending-off could conceivably have eased their relegation worries by snatching a late point.
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